NORMATIVE ENSHRINING OF THE PROHIBITION OF SLAVERY IN INTERNATIONAL ACTS: HISTORICAL AND LEGAL DIMENSION

The article is devoted to the consideration of nature of slavery from its legalization in antiquity and total prohibition in the modern world. The views of philosophers on human rights, freedom and dignity were researched by the author; defined political and legal ideas of Aristotle, Hippias, Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke about slavery. The prerequisites for the accepting of international joint acts restricting the possibility of slave ownership have been analysed. The Declaration of the Eight Courts of 1815, the General Act on combating the slave trade of 1890, which states have expressed international concern about this problem and identified a number of measures to curb the slave trade were verified. The norms of the Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery of 1926 was considered by the author, it defines the concept of slavery and slave trade. In fact, prohibition of slavery is provided for in both universal and regional international human rights standards. The norms of the Universal Declaration of human rights of 1948, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950, the International Covenant on Civil and Politician Rights of 1966, the African Charter on Нuman and Peoples rights of 1981, the Arab Charter of Human Rights of 2004 are researched. International human rights acts provide that no one can be held in slavery or slave trade, both of them are forbidden at all. The author pays attention to the activities of specialised bodies that protect the human rights provided by international acts and consider applications in case of their violation. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (regional courts) is considered: «Hacienda Brasil Verde Workers v. Brazi», «Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia», «Siliadin v. France», which the courts concluded that the plaintiffs were in slavery.